CHAPTER 22

Keesha stared out over the bridge.  Stone’s ashes had been set free here.  She shook her head.  A wonderful life cut tragically short.  In the remembrance of that, her problems seemed insignificant.

"Keesha?" a voice asked unsure.

She turned to face the intruder of her private time and there stood Robin Scorpio.  "Hello, Robin."

"Hi, Keesha.  It’s good to see you."

Keesha nodded politely.

"This is a great place to come and think.  Whenever I have anything heavy to contemplate, I come here or rather in the past few years, I’ve imagined myself here.  Stone loved it here so much."

Keesha nodded again.  Why was this woman telling her this?  They hadn’t been friends in years.  Captain Pembroke had been right, after years of lies and make believe she had absolutely no room in her life for it. So why was Robin frontin’?  She no longer harbored ill will towards the younger woman, but that didn’t mean they could pick up where they left off a decade ago.  Jason Morgan hadn’t wanted her and Robin was in
the right place at the right time to swoop in on a vulnerable, "innocent" man.  But Robin had paid the price for her backstabbing behavior when Jason left her for Michael and Carly. 

"Be with him," she heard Robin say to her.

"Excuse me?"

"Jason.  You and he have a second chance.  I know I stopped you from having a second chance earlier and I’m so, so incredibly sorry.  I destroyed our friendship and your relationship because I was jealous."

How did Robin know about her and Jason?  And no kidding she'd been jealous.

"I wasn’t jealous of your relationship with Jason, but of Jason and his second chance.  We all talk about starting over, starting from scratch, well he was given that and I wanted him to take full advantage of it.  Not just go back to the same life he had before."
Robin paused and took in a deep breath.  "When I heard about his accident all I could think was there was another person I knew and cared about who was hurt and might die.  I- - I can’t explain it, but sitting there talking to him knowing he couldn’t remember- -
While he slept I imagined what it would be like to have a fresh start. Not to live with the constant pain of my parents’ horrific deaths, Stone’s painful one, Filomena’s death, my Uncle Duke’s passing, and Cheryl’s.  To be free of the sense of abandonment I felt when everyone left:  my Uncle Frisco, Aunt Tiffany, Uncle Sean, Holly, and Katharine.  It seemed my life was all about death and leaving and for Jason to get a- -" Robin turned to Keesha.  "I know sorry isn’t enough and I know you probably didn’t want that explanation, but you deserved it.  I know it’s years too late, but better late than never, huh?" she chuckled sadly.

Seeing this woman, she thought unkindly about for a time through new eyes, had tears welling up in her eyes.  She’d lost her father and Granny Mae but that didn’t compare to the losses Robin experienced in her young life.  Mac was a great uncle, but how could he even begin to fill the holes left by so many.  While this didn’t even begin to excuse what Robin did, it gave her a new perspective about that black period in her life.  "Thank you for everything."

The brunette nodded.  "It was the least I could do."

"Have you told Jason this?"

"Yes, through letters over the years."

It was Keesha’s turn to nod.  "I accept your apology," she said quietly, her voice floating on the wind.

Tears sprang up in Robin’s eyes.  "Oh, Keesha, thank you.  Thank you.  I’ll never forget this."  She reached out her hand to touch Keesha’s.  Keesha opened her hand and shook Robin’s hand.

"One last thing and I know this is putting my foot in my mouth, but I have to say this.  I never regretted my time with Stone or Jason.  Even when everyone told me that I should leave them for my health or sanity or safety, I stayed because love is precious and should be held on to whenever it graces itself to come your way." 

With that said, Robin walked off, leaving Keesha alone with her thoughts again.